When I first started blogging for this class, I can honestly say that I wasn't sure how much I'd actually learn. For someone that's never blogged before, I just didn't see the difference between this and other forms of writing I've done in the past. I was wrong.
In these past four weeks alone, I've learned that voice and presentation is everything. Is your style formal or informal? Does the reader feel like you are speaking directly to them? How relatable or interesting is your topic? Is there too much unnecessary information burying the main points of said topic?
When I took my writing courses in college, these were key points that for the most part were only touched upon, especially the voice aspect. If it was a formal paper you were to have a formal voice. Plain and simple. Yet with the blog, I have free reign with my voice which has led me to see even further aspects of my writing that can use improvement. Word arrangement, simplicity, clarity; all things that I thought I had a grasp on but now see it can use a bit more work here and there to really drive the point home.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with what I've done so far on this blog. I've learned things about my niche I never even dreamed of (i.e. the FDNY application process). That said though, I've also learned you can only go so far before it's time to reinvent yourself. A previous blog entry of mine indicated I am changing my niche to skiing. Being that I've actually taken part in this sport for the past seventeen years, I feel that not only am I more qualified to blog about it, but it is also closer to my natural voice, both spoken and written. ad0meliora - you once spoke of how my writing "conveys the same bursts of energy that you must have life to carry off your personal adventures". I think you'll really see that energy with this new niche.
My persona; my pseudonym, my online presence... I want them all to convey that energy and sense of adventure. My pseudonym has already accomplished that. I learned to ski in VT, and being that I fly down the trails like a bat out of hell most people say I must be "mad" :)
I quote Ferris Bueller. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it". For me, the things I don't want to miss are the adventures in life. I want anyone searching for me or reading this blog to know that. Step one: change the blog title. Step two: blog about certain ski trips I've taken that have pushed the limits. Step three... well, we'll see how it goes. Like I said, life is an adventure. The best adventures always include the unknown.
As far as your decision making goes, I had the same revelation. I started with a topic I thought I could write about from a distance but learned that, with the blog medium, you need to be connected to your topic in a different kind of way.
ReplyDeleteI agree - this is entirely different from the formal paper experience, where we are tasked to dis-passionately write a page of two about a subject that we'll forget a week after the turn-in date.
I have a shout-out.. awesome!
You sound excited to begin anew. i hope you enjoy your new voice.
in critiquing your post above, I would say that it's not until a single sentance of the second to last paragraph that you indcate what your new topic will be, and it's more of an allusion to your change rather than a clearly presented statement of the subject area. if you were to re-write, consider adding more detail to help the reader understand the change in topic.
What you do convey is your excitement for the change and I look forward to seeing the transition with the new subject.